The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical connectors, and more particularly to a multi-wire locking system for use in commercial and industrial applications wherein male and female electrical connectors, each housing multiple wires, are locked together utilizing a unique ground contact.
The field of electrical connectors is old and well known, and has seen a myriad of designs which have sought in most cases to advance the state of the art to provide users with more reliable and safer products. One such manufacturer is Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc., which has developed a line of booted products for use in commercial and industrial environments. The term "booted" as used within this specification is used to describe generally a system of male and female electrical connectors which matingly engage one another to provide an electrical junction or connection point between electrical appliances or equipment, by way of example only, and a source of electrical current which will power the load.
In applications with greater magnitudes of electrical voltages or current, the connectors must reliably and safely handle higher ratings in a manner which attempts to eliminate failures or degradation of the connections. An example of an existing manufacturer of such devices is Hubbell Incorporated, who for years has manufactured and sold relatively heavy duty electrical connectors for the commercial and industrial market. These connectors include plugs and receptacles, each multi-wired with, for example, three conducting wires which terminate within the plugs and receptacles at screw terminals, for example.
The receptacles of these conventional devices include a ground contact fabricated to be able to matingly receive the ground pin of the cooperating plug. The electrical connection between the ground pin and the ground contact which receives the pin is an important connection and must be reliable from an electrical conducting standpoint.
There is a drawback to the conventional ground contacts known to the art, however, such as those manufactured by Hubbell Incorporated. The Hubbell ground contacts are each machined parts which include at least two separate parts per contact, namely, a machined hub and what I will refer to here as a machined spring tube member which actually electrically engages the ground pin.
These machined parts require several machining steps each and then, only after the machining is completed, require assembly in the finished ground contact to be located within the electrical receptacle used in commercial or industrial applications. There is an obvious cost penalty associated with machined parts, as compared with fully automated formed parts. There is an increased cost of labor associated with machined parts, as compared with fully automated formed parts. There is a penalty of cost and labor associated with an assembly of two or more parts, as compared with fully automated production of a single part. There is also a time penalty associated with machined and assembled parts. Finally, there is a penalty associated with consistency where parts are machined and/or handled by more than one person, as compared to fully automated parts. Inspection of the Hubbell ground contact will show that a set screw is required to hold the plurality of machined parts together, these part being splined to mate.
These costs in time, labor and material, as well as any inconsistencies, are passed on to the purchasers of receptacles incorporating these ground contacts. While the present invention does not focus upon the ground pin, it is known that such pins are machined by Hubbell in a similar manner.
There has thus been a long felt need for a ground contact suitable for use in electrical connectors which will be used in commercial and industrial applications or environments, and which will not require machining and assembly of multiple parts in its manufacture.